A community meeting to discuss the proposed £150m dredging of Falmouth Docks turned into a three-hour grilling of the developer’s pollution research, as fishermen and environmental groups voiced concerns over the long-term effects of the scheme.
An estimated 400 attendees squeezed into The Cornish Bank on Church Street, Falmouth, on Monday evening (August 17) for the event hosted by community action group Stop the Dredge, with around 100 people left lining the street trying to listen in.
The crowded venue saw a panel discussion with speakers representing dock owner Balaena, as well as Cornwall Wildlife Trust, oyster fishers and Stop the Dredge, before questions were opened to the audience.
Drystan Jones, director of port development at Balaena, defended the plans to dredge in the harbour and redevelop the docks to allow larger cruise, cargo and navy ships to berth.
Mr Jones said on behalf of the shipyard company: “We’re here to talk to you – this is the start of an ongoing conversation.
“We have got to come up with something that works for everyone, and we have tried to come forward with a scheme that deals with issues from past dredging.”
Jayne Kirkham, MP for Truro and Falmouth, said: “I understand that there are real concerns.
“No one is trying to push this through – it has to be tested as thoroughly as possible, and any conditions that are set have to be enforced.”
Ms Kirkham explained that she has been a long-term advocate for Floating Offshore Wind (FLOW) as a clean source of energy and way to create skilled jobs across Cornwall.
Jones confirmed that Balaena are in talks with wind energy companies including EDF and Equinor, which are currently paying holding licences for rights to seabed between Cornwall and Wales, and hope to use Falmouth as a staging post for building out FLOW infrastructure.
“We have the opportunity to be the first port in the Celtic Sea which is able to do that,” Mr Jones added.
However, fellow panellists were less optimistic.
Paddy Vinnicombe, a sixth-generation oyster fisherman who works using traditional sailing methods, told the room that he was worried about the effect of heavy metal contaminants and suspended silt on the shellfish’s life cycle.
Mr Vinnicombe said: “The oyster fishery needs to be in a Goldilocks' zone.
“If they are going to go ahead with this dredge, then they need to make sure that it’s tightly sealed.
“A five percent error could kill off the last natural oyster fishery in the country.
"It’s been here for hundreds of years and it’s just starting to take off again.
"If this happens, we won’t be able to carry the torch forward.”
Fisherman Jason Pascoe argued that displaced sediment would linger in the estuary far longer than expected, citing the area’s wild oysters as evidence of its flow: “The River Fal holds the same water for a minimum of ten days, otherwise it wouldn’t be an oyster fishery.”
Mr Pascoe said that in 2001, dumping of a much smaller quantity of spoil in the same area earmarked for dumping of material from the planned dredge had effectively wiped out fish stocks there for five years.
“We may never get rid of displaced silt after a five-year project,” he said.
He also highlighted the risk of exposing fish along Cornwall’s coast – which can swim up to 30 miles per day – to diseases caught by eating contaminated worms dug up during the dredging.
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Dan Barrios-O’Neill, Head of Marine Conservation at Cornwall Wildlife Trust (CWT), said: “We are not opposed to this development in principle, but we have some serious concerns in practice.”
CWT has submitted a Holding Objection to the Marine Management Organisation, calling for further research before the proposals can be fully assessed.
“There can’t even be a 1% chance that this goes wrong,” Mr Barrios-O’Neill added, explaining that more thorough testing of the sediment (much of which is contaminated by mercery, zinc and TBT from old anti-fouling paints) is needed.
Francesca Willow, an artist and activist representing Stop the Dredge, said that the plans risk ‘ecocide’ in the Falmouth estuary.
Ms Williams also noted that the cruise ship industry is one of the most polluting forms of travel, and asked how Falmouth facilitating larger cruise ships aligned with the Paris Agreement to curb greenhouse gas emissions.
“Decisions you make today may not look good in the light of history,” she added.
Audience members suggested using screens for dredging to contain spill, as well as ‘bubble curtains’ to protect marine mammals from excessive noise.
Questions were also raised about the tidal flow modelling used by Balaena in its planning, which appear to diverge from those recorded in Admiralty charts.
Mr Jones confirmed that Balaena used a trusted environmental modelling company whose software is deployed all over the UK.
“We are on exactly the same page – we do not want any damage to happen.
“These are issues for the regulators to enforce and us to comply with,” he added.
The dredging proposals are expected to be considered by Cornwall Council’s Strategic Planning Committee later this month.
Up to 643,000 cubic metres of sediment – the volume of 20,000 shipping containers – could be removed, with much of the material proposed for disposal at sea.
The scheme requires planning permission from Cornwall Council for land-based works and a marine licence for dredging and other works below the waterline.
Bella Bunce of Stop the Dredge said, “It was incredible to see so many people show up. Falmouth is an amazing community – we really care about our neighbours and about what happens to the ecosystems and natural environment we all depend on in so many ways.
“Stop the Dredge are not opposed to the modernisation of Falmouth’s docks, but we want to be sure that this is done in ways that don’t lead to irreversible environmental damage.
“It was clear from the evening that the public have a lot of questions, and many remain unanswered.”
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